Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

In relation to the assumptions issue, I assume—no pun intended!—that the senator is referring to the modelling assumptions and various other assumptions that Treasury has been clear about. The government does have faith in the Treasury's modelling. It is modelling undertaken by some very highly skilled public servants, people who not only provided advice to this government but who in the past have provided advice to governments of the opposite political persuasion. So if the senator's focus on assumptions is in relation to modelling, it is the case that modelling requires certain assumptions. What is important is that those assumptions are sound as well as clear and consistent, and that is the way in which the modelling is approached. (Time expired)